Thursday, February 02, 2006

Waiting Room, Part II

My sister had surgery last week on her rotator cup. She now has to go to physical therapy and because of the surgery, unable to drive, so I will be taking her for a while.

Yesterday I took her and made me a little comfortable nest in the waiting room. I brought a book. On a TV attached on the wall near the ceiling CNN was on.

One nicely dressed elderly lady was sitting across from me. Another lady came in and sat near the first lady. I deducted by their conversation they didn’t know each other.

Bush was on CNN, giving a live speech from Nashville, of him rehashing his State of the Union message. He seemed to have more of a southern accent and also more of a good old boy attitude. I suppose he changed to suit his audience. I think he might could have changed to the color of his background if he concentrated. I heard him say he wanted to cut out some of these programs, so our children wouldn’t have to be paying for what we are doing today. I suppose he overlooked a biggie in the spending department: Iraq.

One of the ladies said, “That Bush, once he sets his mind on something, he doesn’t back down.”The other one said, “Yep, whether he is right or wrong.”

I amenned that.

The nicely dressed lady was called in. The more humble lady sat and continue to watch TV. A Spanish couple came in and sat on the couch beside her. She politely said she would give them more room and she came and sat beside me on my couch….. was she fleeing? Hard to say.

I asked her was she a native to our county. She said no she moved here in 1956. She said she was born and raised in the Fort Payne, Sand Mountain, Alabama, area. I said that is where to band Alabama is from. She said, yep, her first cousin married the lead singer, and then, they even had less money than her family did.

She went on to say that she quit high school in the tenth grade and got married. Her and her husband moved to Chattanooga. Because of her husband’s health a doctor recommended they move to Arizona, which they did.

In Arizona a doctor told them they needed to move back east, which they did.

They moved to this area. I think possibly the doctors in both states, did not want a man doomed to die on their hands, so suggested they move – move from them, anyway.

He was a bus driver. He died.

After he died she took an adult learning class on how to take the G.E.D. and afterwards, took the test and passed it.

She got a job with the county school's lunchrooms.

In her career she worked at three different county school lunchrooms, first a grammar school, then a high school, and lastly, another grammar school, closer to her home.

Then my sister came out of therapy and we left. I hope the lady was finished with her concentrated verbal autobiography.

2 Comments:

Everytime mr.kenju sits anywhere with strangers, as in the mall or a waiting room, he will know their life stories after 15 minutes. You must be like that too. I laughed when you said Bush could change to the color of the background if he wanted. Chameleons do that, don't they??!! LOL